The text presented here is the final result of a series of versions of our research on the four divisions (or grades) of ancient Chinese (Middle Chinese) :1. (1998) Du chinois archaïque au chinois ancien : monosyllabisation et formation des syllabes tendu/lâche (Nouvelle théorie sur la phonétique historique du chinois), The 31st International Conference on Sino-Tibetan Languages and Linguistics, University of Lund, Swiden, Sept. 30th -Oct. 4th 5. The present text is the enlarged version that was translated into Chinese by Professor SHEN Ruiqing 沈瑞清. Reading guide :Many thanks to my colleague Alexis Michaud for the care and skill with which he proofread this text and suggested corrections. I remain solely responsible for all decisions on contents and form.Note : For the sake of clarity the new paragraphs that were added in the version translated into Chinese are indicated in blue. Some pages have blank space at bottom to avoid splitting tables over two pages. 2Determining the nature of the four Divisions of the Qièyùn is a fundamental problem in the study of the phonetic history of Chinese. Analyses by Baxter and Pulleyblank make it possible to bring out two major changes from Old Chinese to Middle Chinese: a two-way split of the vowel system, and later the lenition of medial -r-. The use of models drawn from Mon-Khmer voice type register languages made it possible to reconstruct the phonetic bases of the four divisions. Div. I consists of tense rimes, Div. II consists of tense, velarized rimes resulting from medial -r-, Div. III consists of lax/breathy rimes. As for Div. IV, it consists of (non velarized) rimes with the diphthong ie.
SUMMARYThe Viet-Muong languages present a wide variety of systems having four to six tones, and reflecting two earlier systems: a six-tone system and a four-tone system in which final -h is preserved. Vietnamese, Muòng and Cuoi are representative of a pure six-tone system in the traditional definition. Sách/ Ruc and Thavung have a four-tone system in which vowel breathiness is preserved in the low tone series. When in such a system breathiness is lost too fast, as in Maleng, the result is a kind of eroded two-tone system. In some languages like Pong and some Vietnamese dialects, final -h was lost without giving contrastive tones, the result being a kind of heterodox four-tone system. The situation of tone systems in Viet-Muong languages is of the highest importance for the theory of tonogenesis.RÉSUMÉLes langues viet-muong offrent un large éventail de systèmes tonals, de quatre à six tons, provenant tous de deux systèmes antérieurs de base: l'un à six tons et l'autre à quatre tons où le -h final est préservé. Le vietnamien, le muròng et le cuôi sont représentatifs d'un pur système à six tons dans leur définition la plus classique. Le sách/ruc et le thavung ont un système à quatre tons avec des voyelles soufflées sous les tons de la série basse. La chute trop rapide du caractère soufflé, comme en maleng, donne une sorte de système érrodé à deux tons. En pong et dans certains dialectes vietnamiens le -h final est tombé sans entraîner la création de tons supplémentaires, le résultat étant la formation de systèmes tonals hétérodoxes à quatre tons. La variété des systèmes tonals en viet-muong représente un apport important à une théorie de la tonogénèse.ZUSAMMENFASSUNGDie Viet-Muong-Sprachen stellen eine groBe Varietät von Systemen zwi-schen vier und sechs Tonen dar; sie reflektieren zwei frühere Systeme, und zwar ein Sechstonsystem und ein Viertonsystem, in welchen ein finales -h erhalten geblieben ist. Vietnamesisch, Muòng and Cuoi sind repräsentativ fur ein reines Sechstonsystem der herkommlichen Art. Sách/Ruc und Thavung hingegen haben ein Viertonsystem, in welchem eine rauhe Vokalbehauchung in der niederen Tonreihe erhalten geblieben ist. Wenn in einem solchen System die rauhe Behauchung zu schnell verlorengeht, wie im Maleng, ist das Ergebnis eine Art heruntergekommenes Zweitonsystem. In solchen Sprachen wie Pong und einigen vietnamesischen Dialekten war das End-h verlorenge-gangen, ohne jedoch kontrastierende Tone zu erhalten: das Ergebnis war eine Art heterodoxes Viertonsystem. The Situation der Tonsysteme in den Viet-Muong-Sprachen ist von groBter Wichtigkeit fur die Theorie der Tongenese.
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